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turbotax

If you recognize the name Intuit, you’re probably one of the 40 million people who filed returns last year using its TurboTax software. Facing competitors ranging from storefront tax preparers to free (for now) preparation through a credit report website, the company’s CEO is optimistic about the future. [More]

For most people, the IRS now has all the information it needs to estimate how much you owe in taxes, or how much of a refund you are due. So why is the burden on you to tell the federal government this same information? It may have something to do with the millions of dollars that H&R Block, Intuit (maker of TurboTax), and others have spent lobbying to maintain their exclusive arrangement with the IRS. [More]

One of the many innovations that ride-hailing service Uber has given the world is that it popularized the phrase “surge pricing,” which means raising the price for something as demand for it goes up. Lots of industries do this, but filing taxes is something that everyone has to do. [More]

TurboTax tried an interesting experiment this year: some of their desktop software users were offered the opportunity to store their tax returns in the on the cloud, which could be useful in the case of hard drive failure or some other catastrophe affecting files on your computer. Those customers will have to download a copy for safekeeping: Intuit has decided to end the experiment and have desktop customers save their returns the old-fashioned way. [More]

Joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service on the case of bogus tax returns filed used Intuit’s TurboTax software will now be lawmakers from both the House and Senate, who have started probing the recent flurry of fraudulent activity. [More]

The Great TurboTax Revolt of 2015 was successful: after changing the features available to users of different tiers of the income tax return software, customers made their rage clear, and Intuit relented. They rolled back the change for future editions and offered a free upgrade to users this year. If you’re in a hurry to file your taxes, that upgrade will come on February 7. [More]

It’s the opening weekend of tax season! If you work an hourly or salaried job, the W-2 form summarizing how much you earned and how much tax you’ve paid is already in your mailbox or will be soon, since the deadline to mail them out is February 2nd. If you plan to use the Windows or Mac version of TurboTax, though, there’s something that you should know before you get started. UPDATE, 1/30: Thanks to this consumer revolt, Intuit is rolling back the changes and will return to the old pricing scheme for next year. [More]

We can understand why some people might have concerns about receiving tax forms that are already filled in by the IRS. We could understand why some would voice those concerns in a public forum. But is a line crossed when the people telling you to voice your concerns are the very ones who stand to benefit financially from your opposition? [More]

$65 is a lot of money to Jaden, but he was happy to pay it to file his tax return when of TurboTax for the iPad told him that he was getting a pretty sweet refund. He wasn’t: the app gave bad info and he wasn’t eligible for any refunds due to being on Social Security, which isn’t taxed. Well, boo. That’s where the real challenge comes in: getting the refund from Apple. Or Intuit. Or Apple. Or is it Intuit? [More]

In 2002, when the IRS and the tax-prep software industry created Free File, which gives consumers with simple tax returns the ability to file electronically without being charged, the IRS agreed to not provide its own “free, online tax return preparation and filing services to taxpayers.” That arrangement is expiring, so some lawmakers (with a bit of money from tax-prep companies in their pockets) are seeking to make it permanent. [More]

Well, that headline is a little disingenuous. We know exactly why. K. filed his federal return using the free e-file service through Intuit’s TurboTax. It nagged him to upgrade to the paid service here and there during the process, which you expect when using any free service. What he didn’t expect was a pop-up with Lisa the Friendly Accountant acting like a public radio host during pledge drive week. “Intuit is a multi-billion dollar corporation,” he pointed out in his e-mail to Consumerist. “I just found this a bit greedy.” [More]

Here’s a story about TurboTax that is at least a little bit heartwarming. Tyler filled out all of his tax information on the TurboTax website, and paid for an extra upgrade to save himself some data entry for his investments. But somehow, the TurboTax servers ate his 2010 return, and the information was nowhere to be found. He steeled himself for a long wait on the phone and a vicious fight with rude Intuit representatives, but that’s not what happened. [More]